Marijuana or cannabis is a very popular plant today which originated from ancient times when it’s been used in various ways by the early humans in the world. It’s a wonder herb as what other people would consider it but it took a long while before it was finally accepted as a legal drug.
Now, with the legalization of cannabis use and cultivation, different methods for successfully growing your buds have become the new favorite topic going on. Another form of cultivation has been born and performed by many cannabis growers today.
Hydroponic vs soil weeds growing, which one will you try for your next cannabis cultivation? Read on and learn more.
What is Soil Weed Growing?
During the early times, the original and traditional cultivation process that people apply in every plant they grow is soil cultivation. It’s easier during those times when technology is not yet as advanced as today.
It was not yet known to many growers that growing cannabis indoors is possible. Instead, people learned to nurture and cultivate crops with nature’s unpredictable behavior. Outside, they had natural resources to sustain the healthy growth of their crops.
The natural soil you used for growing your weed can be added with some materials that contain a high quantity of nutrients like manure. Using the right amount and type of material is good for maximizing their yield. It also prevents the occurrence of deficiency in nutrients.
Even if you think you got the best soil to cultivate your crops, you still need to add some supplementary nutrients to them for a guaranteed result.
Aside from the air, sunlight, and water that plants like weeds get from being grown outdoors, there are a lot more advantages and disadvantages that soil weed growing entails. Below are some of those this process brings.
Advantages
- Soil weed growing requires less maintenance and attention from growers.
- Soil weed growing is easier to do.
- Soil weed growing gives better flavor to crops upon harvest.
- Soil weed growing produces all-natural products.
Disadvantages
- Soil weed growing needs a bigger space.
- Soil weed growing is sometimes more expensive.
- Soil weed growing makes it hard to detect issues and defects on crops.
- Soil weed growing crops have a hard time recovering from a problem while growing.
- Soil weed growing produces less amount of nutrients compared with hydroponics.
What is Hydroponic Weed Growing?
If soil is the medium formerly used since ancient times, the changing of time and technology then brought to life this different form which is called hydroponics. It is a process that uses various types of media such as coco coir, perlite, sand, gravel, and others that are added with some water.
Water is vital in this process of growing because that is the way that cannabis growers bring in nutrients to the plants. The water supply is mixed with the necessary supplements that help in keeping the crops healthy.
Advantages
- Hydroponic growth gives a larger yield.
- Hydroponic growth allows a more maximized yield.
- Hydroponic growth avoids the occurrence of diseases from the soil as well as pests.
- Hydroponic growing can be done in a limited space.
- Hydroponic growing allows for faster cultivation and harvest.
- Hydroponic growing can be automatic without much help from growers.
Disadvantages
- Hydroponic growing needs more attention for monitoring and maintenance
- Hydroponic growing requires more maintenance and cleaning
- Hydroponic growing produces buds that are not as delightful as soil-grown crops.
Hydroponics may come in 5 different types. These are the common ones that most cannabis growers usually apply to their crops.
Different Types of Hydroponics
Deep Water
A bucket filled with the nutrients called the bubblers are used for this deep water culture in hydroponic cannabis growing. Plants are suspended on top of the mixture made up of water and nutrients. They stay floating while the plant’s roots grow larger, too.
Drip Irrigation
In this method, separate chambers are dedicated to each plant. The nutrients are not directly poured onto the crops but only through a dripper. Such nutrients that get mixed up with the water in each chamber become recycled and reused by the plants through the same process from the beginning.
Aeroponics
The roots of your crops will be hanging freely in the air through grow chambers. It does not have anything else inside. By providing the plants with an environment rich in oxygen, the microbes that live inside the crops are likely to process nutrients faster than any ordinary plants are grown in soil.
Ebb-and-flow
This process requires the use of rock wool instead of soil so there will be a guaranteed high yield during harvest time. This is also called the flood-and-drain system because it encourages the same natural effects of rain to the crops. Ebb-and-flow is not a technique that beginners should try for their first cultivation journey.
Nutrient Film
It is a technique wherein the nutrients are passed on through pumping from a tray to become a shallow film slowly moving towards the plant’s roots. Those roots that grow large due to being nurtured with the nutrients in the tray then create a mat-like composition. Development becomes faster with this cultivation process.
Which is better? Hydroponic vs soil weed growing is a question not answerable by any article you can find on the internet but with your own experience. Try cultivating your crops using both of these methods and see which one will benefit you the most and to get the answer to your question.
Final Thoughts
Cannabis cultivation is such a joy to an avid fanatic of the green herb. To produce your buds is an achievement. You don’t always have to do what is trending or new in society. In the case of growing your weeds, what should matter is that you enjoyed the process and had the result you’ve been expecting as a reward for all your hard work. With hydroponic vs soil weeds growing, choose the one that you feel comfortable doing and just be happy about it. Good luck!
